Photographers like to share pictures. In fact, a major reason photographers take pictures is to share them with friends, family and co-workers. One current method to share pictures includes ordering multiple sets of prints giving the user multiple prints of every picture on the roll whether the photographer considers them good enough for sharing or not. This approach is costly for the photographer and limits them to sharing with just a few individuals.
Another method of sharing pictures is to order reprints of only those pictures desired. This occurs after the original film has been processed, printed, and reviewed by the photographer. The photographer must then return the negatives to a retailer for selective reprints. This is not cost or time efficient. Reprints are usually more expensive than the original prints, in part because of the extra handling of the previously processed film. In addition, time is of the essence when sharing images. Often an inordinate amount of time passes between the original picture talking and the moment the photographer “gets around” to placing the reprint order and finally receiving the reprint. And then occasionally, the original is given away with intention of reprinting the photo later. Many times the process of ordering reprints never happens because it is not convenient, or it is put off so long that it is not as important as it first was. Missing such an opportunity to share memories with others is a moment that can be lost forever.
More recently, service providers have been offering on-line photographic services. On-line photographic services include image digitization, digital image storage, and distribution of digital image files. These are all currently provided by on-line service providers such as the KODAK PhotoNet™ online service, available on the Internet at http://kodak.photonet.com.
However, this is still not necessarily the most convenient way to share pictures. The on-line process entails communicating to the people you want to share the images with, what and where the web site is, what the password is, where the images you want them to look at reside etc. The process is complex for the average person and may not be intuitive.
The present invention resolves many of the problems of the prior art in that there is provided a system for easy access to the results of a photographic event and the ability for multiple parties to conveniently order all of the desired images prior to the first printing of any image thus avoiding the complex reprint process.
These and other aspects, objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood and appreciated from a review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and appended claims, and by reference to the accompanying drawings.